Drift Compatible
by Mara Beth
Summary: "To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own." When Earth is invaded by an alien species, victims become normal people, normal people become heroes, and heroes become villains. Humanity creates monsters- and they aren't the Jaegers. Pacific Rim AU, warnings for Major Character Death and physical and mental trauma.


**Writing this is fulfilling several personal writing challenges for me, and I'm hoping all of you will enjoy it. If this interests you, let me know and I'll continue it. I've got a storyline mapped out, so I'm prepared to continue this.**

**Prior knowledge of Pacific Rim isn't necessary for reading this, but it will probably be more fun if you have seen it. If you haven't, I highly recommend it.**

**Special thanks to Connor for beta-reading for me and just generally putting up with me.**

* * *

"Jack! Jack, wake up, c'mon, let's go!" Miko clapped her hands and flicked the lights on and off, somehow turning waking Jack up into something reminiscent of an extremely low-budget party.

A muffled "Five more minutes, mom" could be heard from the pillow. Miko blew a strand of hair out of her face and put her hands on her hips.

"Five minutes, Jackrabbit? Do you know how much damage a Kaiju can DO in five minutes?" Jack groaned and pulled a blanket over his head. "TOO MUCH! Get UP, Jack!" She grabbed the blanket and gave it a tug, sending Jack tumbling to the floor. "Ah, there he is!"

"Miko..." he pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his head. "We're not even in the Jaeger yet and you've already almost killed me." She was already dressed in her piloting outfit and, satisfied that Jack was awake, had moved to stretching near the doorway. "First time I've seen you actually warming up for a fight," he teased.

"The fight? Oh, I'm not warming up for the fight." She performed a one-two punch on an invisible enemy while bouncing up and down. "I'm warming up for the cameras AFTER the fight."

"Well, it's good to know you've got your priorities straight." Jack chuckled as he pulled on his jacket. "C'mon, let's get down there before Fowler comes to escort us personally." Miko gave him a playful shove and went hurtling down the hallway, Jack laughing as he followed more slowly.

* * *

"'Bout time you two got here!" Fowler turned to face them, hands clasped behind his back. "Get suited up pronto, we've got a category four coming out of the Breach. Codename Darksteel."

"A four?" Jack turned his head to look at Fowler as he passed. "Hold on, how big are we talkin' here?"

Fowler didn't look up from the computer monitor. "Big, Darby. Big enough to use the Space Needle as a toothpick."

He heard Miko whisper to him under her breath. "That'd be so cool if it wasn't gonna try'n kill us." He nodded absent-mindedly as they made their way to the docking station.

To the Jaeger.

It was an incredible feat of technology- Two co-pilots connecting mentally to become something bigger than themselves. Several hundred times bigger. Him and Miko had decided to call it Solus Prime. Alone and important. Jack had proposed it, saying that they could stand alone if they needed. Miko had shrugged and agreed on the terms that she be allowed to decorate it.

Solus had begun with a simple paint job- Black and gray paneling with a blue visor. It hadn't stayed that way long, it had only been a month before Miko had snuck in and painted on it. It was against the rules, per se, but everyone looked the other way. All the pilots did it and nobody had a problem with it as long as it didn't mess with the mechanics of the Jaeger.

Miko had dragged in several buckets of pink paint, scaled the Jaeger, and carefully painted some Japanese lettering on the shoulders. On the right shoulder she had painted the symbols for strength, and on the left shoulder, courage. Jack knew the others were taking bets on how long it would be before she snuck in again.

It was starting to look like her, Jack had joked, and had earned himself a punch on the shoulder, but she laughed along anyways.

They stood still as the armor clasped itself onto them. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack glimpsed a computer with a blurry still of the Kaiju.

He did a double-take. That thing WAS huge. The other Kaiju he had seen compared to the size of the breach had been maybe a fourth the size of the exit hole, this one was at least half the size.

"Darby, face forward." The attendant gently tapped the side of his head and Jack complied. "Miko, that Kaiju is at least twice the size of anything we've fought before."

"Sweet."

"Miko!"

His helmet snapped into place and the first thing he heard was Fowler's voice. "Darby, you'll also have the Optimus Pax team with you. "

"Oh, yeah, great." Jack shook his head at Miko.

"Ugh," Miko started. "Cliff's cool, but Arcee never really talks to me unless she's drifting with him. Then it's weird, 'cause it's her voice but it sounds more like stuff Cliff would say. Creeps me out."

"Solus Prime, you're still on the main line." Arcee's voice, tinged with irritation, rang over the comm. Jack smirked at Miko.

"Roger that, Pax." He said after Miko didn't offer a response.

He expected radio silence, but Cliff responded. "Mornin' Team Solus! Miko, how's it hangin' on your end?"

"The Drift is strong with this one."

"Attagirl."

Jack gave her a look and she shrugged. "What? Us lefties gotta stick together. Am I right, Cliff?"

There was a crackle of static before Cliff responded with a simple "Ten-Four," and Arcee interjected with "If we could please get back to the task at hand?"

"Roger, Optimus Pax. See you on the other side," and Jack cut the line. "Miko, you ready?"

"Yep!"

A new voice came over their comms. "Initiating Neural Handshake."

"Thanks, Ratch!"

The line was silent.

And then they closed their eyes, and for a split second, everything was dark.

Then Jack saw Miko. All of Miko. Her place in school, her dropping out of college, her running away from home, her parents' car crash, and her lost wandering before she finally joined the Jaeger program.

Miko saw Jack. His troubled high school years. Dabbling in drugs and illegal street racing after his dad disappeared. His working two jobs to support him and his mom. There was a fleeting memory of him punching through drywall during a mental breakdown just before he joined the Jaeger program.

And then Miko was Jack, and Jack was Miko. And Jack and Miko were Solus Prime.

Both of them opened their eyes at once, and both announced "Deploy" simultaneously.

"Neural Handshake successful. Deploying Solus Prime."

The Jaeger dropped into the ocean, and Miko and Jack began the march towards the breach.

"Well, it's about time you two got here!" The voice was joking, but it was also female.

Jack laughed, and Miko commented: "See, Arcee, I told you that you talked like Cliff."

"Fowler here! Optimus Pax, Solus Prime, do you copy?" A chorus of "Roger" rang out over the line. "Keep that Kaiju away from the shore. Drive it further into the sea if you have to. It could wipe out a good chunk of the city with tidal waves alone."

The two Jaegers continued the march. "Fowler, do we have any information on the Category Four?"

"It's big and it's heading for the West Coast. Expect surprises. Move fast."

A sarcastic "woohoo" escaped from Jack, and they waded further out. They kept moving forward for about 20 minutes. Jack and Miko idly wondered if maybe the deployment ship had gotten the wrong coordinates.

Then the ocean exploded.

A flurry of noise came from all directions. The Kaiju shrieked, the monitoring helicopters kicked into overdrive to stay out of the action, and the comm line was polluted with yelling from both teams and the base.

"Optimus Pax, Optimus Pax, Cat Four on your right!"

"Roger!"

"Stay between it and the coastline!"

"Don't let it get any closer!"

Jack and Miko quickly scanned the beast. Four legs, tail, no visible wing structures, spikes on the back, the head, and all the claws were long, razor-sharp, and heading straight for them.

They subconsciously had a plan in a matter of milliseconds.

Solus moved right, bringing itself closer to the Kaiju's chest, then grabbed the arm headed for them. They swung around, using the Darksteel's momentum against it. The beast toppled.

A battle cry rang out over the comm, and Optimus could be seen running towards them. The Jaeger's bright red paint caught the helicopter lights and cast a hellish, bouncing glow on the Kaiju. A blade was revealed on the Jaeger's wrist and was immediately plunged into the side of Darksteel.

"Woohoo!" Came Jack's voice over the comm, "That's a new record!"

"Nice job, you two, Fowler, can we-"

A scream on the line from Cliff cut Miko off. Solus' visuals showed Optimus Pax yanking the blade out of the Kaiju. Most of it was gone, a small chunk of the arm was still being eaten away. "Scrap, that thing's got acid!"

"Still kickin'!"

"Guns! Guns!"

The Kaiju grabbed Optimus' right leg and used it to pull itself up, throwing the Jaeger off balance. There was a whirring noise as the red Jaeger's plasma cannons began to charge. The Kaiju threw itself against the Jaeger, knocking it down.

There was another burst of chaos on the line between them, Arcee and Cliff had muffled grunts and the occasional cry of pain. Optimus Pax fired wherever it could, which, generally, was the underside of the beast. Solus' firepower joined the fray, and numerous scorch marks covered the Kaiju from every angle. "Keep it up, it's getting' tired!"

Fowler radioed in. "Optimus Pax, on your feet, now! I want that Kaiju down!"

Solus tangled with Darksteel as Optimus steadied itself and began shooting at the Kaiju again. Solus was thrust to the side, struggling to regain balance as the monster turned back to Optimus. Major acid marks covered the Jaeger, plating fell into the ocean in chunks. Wiring was exposed and the pink paint that read "Strength" had been smeared.

"Solus, do you copy? Solus! Report!"

There was silence.

"Solus, come in!"

There was a pause, then a crackle of static. "We're here. We're here. We're alright, we're still up."

Fowler released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Back at it, then. You're almost done, soldiers."

Then there was a terrible sound, like everything they had just heard when the Kaiju was attacking them put together and then multiplied by ten. They heard metal wrenching and being torn apart in a long, seemingly unending sound, and then heard a scream even worse than the wrenching metal. It started with one voice, then the other joined it, and then one cut off suddenly. The other continued until it was choked by static. They watched what was left of Optimus Pax fall.

They did the only thing they knew they could and continued pounding the beast. There wasn't much of a plan at that point.

* * *

"Solus, come in Solus. The Kaiju is dead. You can stop shooting it."

"Fowler, who's left?" Jack's voice.

Silence.

Miko, this time, pleading. "Fowler, sir, please."

Fowler did not answer, rather, Ratchet, the head scientist and Chief Medical Officer, spoke.

"Cliff is dead. Arcee is physically stable, but we're not sure if her mind is with us. She was still in the Drift when he was lost. Her recovery is up to her now."

"Solus, I'm sending a retrieval ship." Fowler's voice was less demanding now, and held hints of sympathy and mourning.

* * *

The next few weeks passed extremely slowly. The base was bleak. There was a funeral held, Cliff received highest honors. Arcee did not attend, though Jack expected it was because she was still in the medical ward.

The first time he saw her again, she was standing in front of a wall, just staring at the plaque with his name on it. He continued on, not wanting to disturb her.

He left the mess hall an hour later. She hadn't moved.

Word got out that she was alright. She had survived. Jack saw news reports, people amazed at her and declaring how proud they were of her and of how strong she was. The airwaves were filled with people wishing her well.

A day later, she announced her resignation.


End file.
